Packaging



Sept- 5, 1956 RE. STANTON 2,764,283

PACKAGING Filed Jan. 2'7, 1953 FIG.IV.

w III'I'I'IIAV I.

INVENTOR.

, ROBERT E.STANTON BY W ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent PACKAGING Robert E. Stanton, Bloomfield, N. 1.,assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, New York, N. Y., acorporation of Delaware Application January 27, 1953, Serial No. 333,412

4 Claims. (Cl. 206-46) This invention relates to packaging and relatesmore particularly to an improved package and process for forming thesame.

In producing one type of package that is widely used at the presenttime, the article being packaged is enclosed in a wrapping material insuch a manner that two layers of said wrapping material extend beyondthe article in face-to-face relationship to form a flap. The two layersof wrapping material in the flap are sealed to one another,advantageously as close to the article as possible to hold the articlein a definite position in the package. The flap is then folded intoface-to-face contact with the wrapping material lying against thearticle being packaged and the flap is sealed in place against the saidwrapping material.

During the production of the aforementioned package, it has been foundthat there is a tendency for the wrapping material to wrinkle anddistort when the two layers of said wrapping material forming the flapare sealed to one another. This tendency is particularly pronounced whenthe wrapping material is thermoplastic in nature, such as celluloseacetate or other organic acid esterof cellulose, polyethylene or thelike, and the sealing is eifected through the use of heat since the heatemitted from the sealing member will cause the dimensions of thethermoplastic wrapping material to alter and the surface thereof towrinkle and distort. The wrinkling and distortion of the wrappingmaterial will detract from the appearance of the finished package andlower its acceptability to the consumer.

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improvedpackage and process for forming the same which will be free from theforegoing and other dificulties.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved package andprocess for forming the same which will be relatively free fromwrinkling and distortion.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed description and claims.

According to the present invention, the article being packaged isenclosed in a wrapping material in such a manner that two layers of saidwrapping material extend beyond the article in face-to-face relationshipto form a flap. Two seals are formed in the wrapping material making upthe flap, one seal being advantageously positioned close to the articleto hold the article in a definite position in the package and the otherseal being spaced from the first seal and being close to the free edgeof the flap. The two seals are preferably made simultaneously and act tohold the material in the flap relatively smooth and flat. The flap isthen folded into face-to-face contact with the wrapping material lyingagainst the article being packaged and is sealed to said layer. Throughthe use of this procedure in forming the package, it is possible toobtain a finished product that will be relatively free from distortionand wrinkling. As a result,

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2 the package will have a good appearance and exhibit a high degree ofconsumer acceptance.

While this invention is applicable generally to the production ofpackges, it is especially useful where the wrapping material isthermoplastic in nature, such as cellulose acetate or other organicderivative of cellulose, polyethylene or the like, and the seals in thepackage are effected through the use of heat. In this case, the packageobtained is of markedly better appearance than the packages obtained byfollowing the processes previously used for this purpose and, as aresult, is more acceptable to the consumer.

In other respects the package may be of any desired design. For example,two sheets of wrapping material may be used to form the package, or asingle sheet of wrapping material may be folded around the article toform the package. While it is preferred to use seals of the typedescribed on each of the sealed edges of the package, other types ofseals may be used on some of the edges of the package, particularlywhere said edges will be covered or otherwise concealed in the finalpackage.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing wherein Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional detail view showing thesealing of the two layers of material forming the flap, and

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional detail view showing the sealing of the flapto the wrapping material lying against the article being packaged.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference numeral ll'indicatesa-portion of the article being packaged. The article 11 is enclosed inlayers of wrapping material 12 and 13, comprising cellulose acetate,that extend beyond said article in face-to-face relationship to form aflap 14. The layers of wrapping material 12 and 13 in the flap 14 aresealed together by means of a heat sealing element, indicated generallyby reference numeral 15, com: prising a split metallic block '16 havingan upper half 17 and a lower half 18. Positioned in the block 16 are aheater 19 and a thermostat 21 by means of which the said block may bebrought to the desired temperature for sealing. The lower half 18 of theblock 16 has depending therefrom a pair of sealing bars 22 and 23 whichact to form a pair of autogenous seals 24 and 25 in the flap 14. Asshown in Fig. 1, the seal 24 is close to the article 11, while the seal25 is spaced from said article and is close to the free edge of the flap14. Because of the two seals 24 and 25, there is very little opportunityfor wrinkling and distortion of the material in the flap 14 to occur. Tokeep the heat emitted by the heat sealing element 15 from having anywrinkling or distorting effect on the wrapping material enclosing thearticle 11, there is secured to the lower half 18 of the block 16 alayer of thermal insulation 26.

After the seals 24 and 25 have been made, the flap 14 is folded intoface-to-face contact with the layer 13 of wrapping material lyingagainst the article 11. The flap 14 is then sealed to the layer 13, asshown in Fig. 2, by means of a heat sealing element, indicated generallyby reference numeral 27, comprising a split metallic block 28 having anupper half 29 and a lower half 31. Positioned in the block 28 are aheater 32 and a thermostat 33 by means of which the said block may bebrought to the desired temperature for sealing. The upper hall? 29 ofthe block 23 has projecting upwardly therefrom a sealing bar 34 whichacts to form an autogenous seal 35 between the flap 14 and the layer 13.As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the seals 25 and 35 may besuperimposed. However, this is not essential and the said seals may bespaced from one another.

By forming the package in the manner described above it is possible toreduce the wrinkling and distortion of the wrapping material in the flap14 to a minimum and to produce a package that will have a goodappearance 7 and a high degree of consumer acceptance.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is givenmerely by way of illustration and that many variations may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. In a process for the production of packages, the improvement whichcomprises enclosing the' article in a homogeneous thermoplastic wrappingmaterial in such a manner that two layers of wrapping material extendbeyond the article in face-to-face relationship to form a flap, formingtwo spaced heat seals in said flap whereby the wrapping material betweensaid seals is held relatively smooth and flat, one of said seals beingclose to the article to hold the article in a definite position in thepackage, and the other of said seals being spaced from said first sealand being close to the free edge of said fiap, folding said flap intoface-to-face contact with the wrapping material lying against thearticle being packaged, and heat sealing said flap to said wrappingmaterial, the seal between said flap and said wrapping material beingsuperposed on the seal in said flap that is close to the free edge ofsaid flap.

2. A package comprising an article enclosed in a homogeneousthermoplastic wrapping material, two layers of wrapping materialextending beyond the article in face-to-face relationship to form aflap, a pair of spaced heat seals in said flap whereby the wrappingmaterial is held relatively smooth and flat between said seals, one ofsaid seals being close to the article to hold the article in a definiteposition in the package, and the other of said seals being spaced fromsaid first seal and being close to the free edge of said flap, said flapbeing folded into face-to-face contact with the wrapping material lyingagainst the article being packaged, and a heat seal between said flapand said wrapping material, the seal between said flap and said wrappingmaterial being superposed on the seal in'said flap that is close to thefree edge of said flap.

3. In a process for the production of packages, the improvement whichcomprises enclosing the article in a cellulose acetate Wrapping materialin such a manner that two layers of wrapping material extend beyond thearticle in face-to-face relationship to form a flap, forming two spacedheat-seals in said flap whereby the wrapping material between saidseals'is held relatively smooth and fiat, one of said seals being closeto the article to hold the article in a definite position in thepackage, and the other of said seals being spaced from said first sealand being close to the free edge of said flap, folding said flap intoface-to-face contact with the wrapping material lying against thearticle being packaged, and heat-sealing said flap to said wrappingmaterial, the seal between said fiap and said wrapping material beingsuperposed on the seal in said flap that is close to the free edge ofsaid flap.

4. A package comprising an article enclosed in a cellulose acetatewrapping material, two layers of wrapping material extending beyond thearticle in face-to-face relationship to form a flap, a pair of spacedheat-seals in said flap whereby the wrapping material is held relativelysmooth and fiat between said seals, one of said seals being close to thearticle to hold the article in a definite position in the package, andthe other of said seals being spaced from said first seal and beingclose to the free edge of said flap, said flap being folded intoface-to-face contact with the wrapping material lying against thearticle being packaged, and a heat-seal between said fiap and saidwrapping material, the seal between said flap and said wrapping materialbeing superposed on the seal in said flap that is close to the free edgeof said flap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,756,919 Becker et al. Apr. 29, 1930 2,331,927 Palmer Oct. 19, 19432,383,352 Snyder Aug. 21, 1945 2,651,578 Bodolay et al Sept. 8, 1953

